Arsenic contaminated canned fish worth US$ 215,000 detected

A consignment of canned fish, containing the highly toxic heavy metal ‘Arsenic’, above the permissible level, has been uncovered at the Customs storage complex in Orugodawatte.

This stock, imported in May 2021 and valued at US$ 215,000, was not released to the market, after it was found to be contaminated with arsenic.

Secretary to the Ministries of Environment, Wildlife, Forest Resources, Water Supply and Irrigation, Prabath Chandrakeerthi stated, “We will never allow others to bring harmful waste into Sri Lanka for disposal. Sri Lanka is not a dumping ground for hazardous materials. Therefore, we informed the importer to re-export these 5 containers containing arsenic.”

He also added, “The arsenic content in the stock was found to be 1.3 milligram per kilo, whereas the permissible limit is 1 milligram or less per kilo.”

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